Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that XAVIER CRUZ, 26, of Bristol, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Janet B. Arterton in New Haven to possession of a firearm by a felon.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on September 5, 2020, law enforcement found a backpack containing a loaded Smith and Wesson semiautomatic handgun in a parking lot in a residential area of Bristol. The handgun’s serial number had been removed. Investigators subsequently determined that Cruz had possessed the firearm before discarding it.
Prior to September 2020, Cruz sustained felony convictions in state court for controlled substance offenses. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Judge Arterton scheduled sentencing for August 3, 2021, at which time Cruz faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
Cruz is released on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing.